ABC World News Tonight

On the whole, a heartwarming piece. I'm energized that tiny bits of reason are finding their way into mainstream media. Harris' segment is spectacular. I only wish the FFRF folks, when given the chance, would have pointed out that we can have the compassion and the charity without superstition, rather than repeating the well illustrated point that religion leads to violence.

When he says; these atheists…., he’s making it sound like atheists are a bunch of whackos who have nothing better to do. It’s just the same crap from mainstream media to appease the religionists.

Where did they get the 2% statistic from? Every time I see some report on atheism I see this figure dropped at the end. It’s like they’re saying; although there are atheists out there, their numbers are so low that they’re insignificant so don’t worry America, we’re still cool with jesus and his cronies.

I will never ever trust a news article about atheism from ABC, NBC, CBS or especially FOX. It most assuredly is biased and most assuredly scripted that way on purpose therefore making their news on atheism insignificant. They sell their product to religion minded people and it shows.

When he says; these atheists…., he’s making it sound like atheists are a bunch of whackos who have nothing better to do. It’s just the same crap from mainstream media to appease the religionists.

Where did they get the 2% statistic from? Every time I see some report on atheism I see this figure dropped at the end. It’s like they’re saying; although there are atheists out there, their numbers are so low that they’re insignificant so don’t worry America, we’re still cool with jesus and his cronies.

I will never ever trust a news article about atheism from ABC, NBC, CBS or especially FOX. It most assuredly is biased and most assuredly scripted that way on purpose therefore making their news on atheism insignificant. They sell their product to religion minded people and it shows.

I also noticed the “these atheists think….” comment. Surely you wouldn’t have heard “these Christians”, “these Jews”, “these women” or “these gays”. And I think that Annie and her husband probably did have some more effective commentary that I’m guessing was edited out.

Let’s hope PBS or BBC can fix this sometime soon.

“The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray.”
— Robert G. Ingersoll

I didn’t get anything more than that from it, personally. And yes, I think they would have used “these evangelicals” or “these Jews” or whatever (probably not “these Christians” simply because that doesn’t narrow it down so much here in the US).

Byron

Reason is to understanding as theory is to music, and critical thinking as mastery of theory.

“We say, ‘Love your brother.’ We don’t say it really, but… well we don’t literally say it. We don’t really, literally mean it. No, we don’t believe it either. But that message should be clear.”—David St. Hubbins/Nigel Tufnel

I didn’t get anything more than that from it, personally. And yes, I think they would have used “these evangelicals” or “these Jews” or whatever (probably not “these Christians” simply because that doesn’t narrow it down so much here in the US).

Byron

Maybe I’m more sensitive to this stuff, but I disagree. “A lot of these atheists attack what they call religious extremism” was the quote, just after he tells the believer “they’re saying that your faith is wrong” (his emphasis in italics).

Why not “many” atheists and simply “belief in god” instead of “your” faith. Yes, it’s nitpicky, but it’s a sense of setting a group more apart from mainstream than it actually may be.

“These” and “those” preceding a group of people is a touchy subject. Some conservative politician about maybe 15 years back used the phrase “those damn lesbians.” It made quite an impression on some of the San Francisco lesbians.

I think we need to take certain semantic subtleties seriously. See?

“The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray.”
— Robert G. Ingersoll

I don’t disagree with you, I just didn’t get that impression myself. I’m not very sensitive to that sort of thing though—comes from my attitude about the opinions of others in general and regarding me personally, so if I were to check it out in a more critical manner I might very well see the same slight you do. That certainly wouldn’t surprise me.

Byron

Reason is to understanding as theory is to music, and critical thinking as mastery of theory.

“We say, ‘Love your brother.’ We don’t say it really, but… well we don’t literally say it. We don’t really, literally mean it. No, we don’t believe it either. But that message should be clear.”—David St. Hubbins/Nigel Tufnel

If you listen to reputable English programs like those on the BBC you don’t see journalists making these sorts of comments. Their language doesn’t insinuate their personal beliefs in what they’re reporting, and it shows.

There’s an interview posted on this board, (I don’t remember where exactly, sorry) where Richard Dawkins is being asked questions by this English reporter. During the interview you really get the sense he researched his questions thoroughly, superb professional. They are truly unbiased and very professional in their approach to the subject they’re reporting on, unlike most mainstream media in North America. I used to think the 60 Minutes crew were a good bunch of journalists untill they started reporting on Hollywood celebrities. :?

Gee, folks, I honestly don’t know what your expectations were. It’s grim, I know, but considering the level of ignorance in this country, I found this segment fairly decent. I know it’s a tallest-midget contest, but look at the level of enlightenment this shows over the CNN embarrassment just a few weeks ago.

It’s infused with images of religious violence. It introduces viewers to Sam Harris. ABC’s source on the side of mainstream religion (I didn’t catch his name, I wonder if the text didn’t transfer to online) was totally calm and seemed to agree that fundamentalism was the problem—which is the beginning of convincing folks that lack of skepticism is the real problem.

Remember that this is as mainstream as it gets—ABC News is the type of broadcast “journalism” that our aunts and uncles are spoon fed along with their Hamburger Helper. I maintain that this piece is something to be excited about. Not because ABC is making any gains against the joke that is journalistic objectivity in the U.S. Not because the anchor even managed to mask his smirking tone. But because Mable at the table saw the word “atheist” associated with some respectable-looking people.

Windar, the 2 percent figure comes from an ABC News poll, according to their citation. It doesn’t say whether it was a scientific poll commissioned by ABC News or something more informal.

[quote author=“morgonmae”]Gee, folks, I honestly don’t know what your expectations were. It’s grim, I know, but considering the level of ignorance in this country, I found this segment fairly decent. I know it’s a tallest-midget contest, but look at the level of enlightenment this shows over the CNN embarrassment just a few weeks ago.

It’s infused with images of religious violence. It introduces viewers to Sam Harris. ABC’s source on the side of mainstream religion (I didn’t catch his name, I wonder if the text didn’t transfer to online) was totally calm and seemed to agree that fundamentalism was the problem—which is the beginning of convincing folks that lack of skepticism is the real problem.

Remember that this is as mainstream as it gets—ABC News is the type of broadcast “journalism” that our aunts and uncles are spoon fed along with their Hamburger Helper. I maintain that this piece is something to be excited about. Not because ABC is making any gains against the joke that is journalistic objectivity in the U.S. Not because the anchor even managed to mask his smirking tone. But because Mable at the table saw the word “atheist” associated with some respectable-looking people.

Windar, the 2 percent figure comes from an ABC News poll, according to their citation. It doesn’t say whether it was a scientific poll commissioned by ABC News or something more informal.

Didn’t mean to rain on the parade - sorry! I see your points and they’re valid. Those were might powerful war clips.

“The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray.”
— Robert G. Ingersoll